Perspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world

ABSTRACT

A system for perspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world may include determining if another avatar has moved within a predetermined proximity range of a user&#39;s avatar in a virtual world. The system may also include allowing the user to tag the other avatar with information in response to the other avatar being within the predetermined proximity range of the user&#39;s avatar.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/972,064 entitled “PERSPECTIVE BASED TAGGING ANDVISUALIZATION OF AVATARS IN A VIRTUAL WORLD” and filed Jan. 10, 2008,the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to simulations, virtual world simulationsof the real-world or real-life or a virtual world and the like, and moreparticularly to a system and method for perspective based tagging andvisualization of avatar in a virtual world.

Computer based simulations are becoming more ubiquitous. Simulations maybe used for training purposes, for entertainment or for other purposes.Computer simulations such as Second Life™ or similar simulations presenta virtual world which allows users or players to be represented bycharacters known as avatars. Second Life is a trademark of LindenResearch, Inc. in the United States, other countries or both. SecondLife is an Internet-based virtual world launched in 2003 by LindenResearch, Inc. A downloadable client program called the Second LifeViewer enables users, called “Residents”, to interact with others in thevirtual world through motional avatars. The virtual world basicallysimulates the real world or environment. The users or residents viatheir avatar can explore the virtual world, meet other users orresidents, socialize, participate in individual and group activities,create and trade items (virtual property) and services from one another.

As peer and social networks expand into virtual world realms, it isbecoming increasingly difficult for a user to keep track of avatars thatthe user has met. Additionally, many avatars in the virtual world lookalike and an avatar's appearance may frequently change. Accordingly, itis difficult for users to remember the identity of an avatar or whatinteractions, if any, the user has had with a particular avatar based onthe visualization of the avatar or the avatars name. Currently, a usermay view an avatar's profile, but this is tedious and is dependent onthe avatar entering adequate information into his profile. Nevertheless,there is no way to link the identity of a particular avatar (e.g. thename, visual representation, avatar identity, etc.) with the relevanceof that avatar to the user's avatar (e.g. co-worker, customer, friend,new acquaintance, interactions the user has had with the avatar, etc.).Additionally, there is no way to automatically present the user withcustomized information about each specific avatar when the avatar comesinto contact with the user's avatar.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method forperspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtualworld may include determining if another avatar has moved within apredetermined proximity range of a user's avatar in a virtual world. Themethod may also include allowing the user to tag the other avatar withinformation in response to the other avatar being within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar.

In accordance with an aspect of the embodiments of the invention, asystem for perspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in avirtual world may include a processor and a module operable on theprocessor for determining if a physical position of any avatars iswithin a predetermined proximity range that encompasses a user's avatarin the virtual world. The system may also include a module operable onthe processor for, in response to the physical position of any avatarsbeing within the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar,allowing the user to enter information to tag any of the any avatarswith tagged information. The system may further include a moduleoperable on the processor for automatically presenting the taggedinformation to the user when any of the any avatars that have beenpreviously tagged by the user are within the predetermined proximityrange of the user's avatar, wherein the tagged information is onlypresented to the user and not to users of the any avatars. The systemmay still further include a module operable on the processor forallowing the user to turn off automatically presenting the taggedinformation for a selected previously tagged one or more of the anyavatars even if the selected previously tagged one or more of the anyavatars is within the predetermined proximity range of the user'savatar.

In accordance with another aspect of the embodiments of the invention,the system may further include a module for determining if the user haspreviously tagged any avatars with the information in response to anyavatars coming within the predetermined proximity range of the user'savatar. The system may further include a module for presenting thetagged information in at least one of a visual form and an audible form.The system may still further include a module for presenting aninterface for the user to modify the tagged information previouslyentered by the user.

In another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, the system mayfurther include a module for allowing the user to select any avatarswithin the predetermined proximity range for tagging the information andpresenting an interface for the user to enter the information to betagged to any avatars within the predetermined proximity range inresponse to the user selecting any avatars within the predeterminedproximity range. The system may further include a module for allowingthe user to define properties for automatically presenting the taggedinformation.

In another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, the system mayfurther include a module for allowing the user to define a format forautomatically presenting the tagged information to the user; allowingthe user to define a frequency for automatically presenting the taggedinformation; and allowing the user to define a duration forautomatically presenting the tagged information. The system may furtherinclude a module for allowing the user to define at least one of visualand auditory information for the tagged information. The system maystill further include a module for storing the tagged information andassociated settings locally in an inventory associated with the user.

In another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, the system mayfurther include a module for allowing the tagged information andassociated settings to be shared with another user and the user of theany avatar. The system may further include a module for allowing theuser to enter information that is pertinent from a perspective of theuser. The system may still further include a module for allowing theuser to enter information to identify any avatar to the user and topresent a relevance of that any avatar to the user's avatar in thevirtual world. The system may also include module for allowing amanagement entity to update and modify the tagged information.

In an aspect of the embodiments of the invention, a system forperspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtualworld may include a processor and a module operable on the processor fordetermining if a physical position of any avatars is within apredetermined proximity range that encompasses a user's avatar in thevirtual world. In another aspect, the system may include a moduleoperable on the processor for determining if the user has previouslytagged any avatar that is within the predetermined proximity range withtagged information, wherein the tagged information comprises at least anaudible statement pre-recorded by the user. In another aspect, thesystem may include a module operable on the processor for permitting theuser to tag the any avatar with additional information in response tothe any avatar coming within the predetermined proximity range of theuser's avatar and edit the tagged information in response to the anyavatar coming within the predetermined proximity range of the user'savatar and the user having previously tagged the any avatar withinformation.

In another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, the system mayinclude a module operable on the processor for automatically presentingthe tagged information to the user in response to the any avatar comingwithin the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar and theuser having previously tagged the any avatar with the taggedinformation, wherein the tagged information is only presented to theuser and not to users of the any avatars. The system may also include amodule for permitting the user to tag the any avatar with informationrelated to an identification of the any avatar and a relevance of theany avatar to the user's avatar in the virtual world. The system maystill further include a module for allowing the user's avatar totransfer the tagged information for any avatar within the predeterminedproximity range to any further avatar in the virtual world.

In another aspect of the embodiments of the invention, the system mayinclude a module for permitting the user to tag another avatar withinthe predetermined proximity range with information in response to theanother avatar coming within the predetermined proximity range of theuser's avatar and the user not having previously tagged the anotheravatar with information. The system may also include a module forallowing the user to define properties for presenting the taggedinformation.

In an aspect of the embodiments of the invention, a computer programproduct for perspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in avirtual world may include a computer readable storage medium havingcomputer readable program code embodied therewith. In another aspect,the computer readable computer program code may include computerreadable program code configured to determine if a physical position ofany avatars is within a predetermined proximity range that encompasses auser's avatar in the virtual world. In another aspect, the computerreadable computer program code may include computer readable programcode configured to, in response to the physical position of any avatarsbeing within the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar,allow the user to enter information to tag any of the any avatars withtagged information. In another aspect, the computer readable computerprogram code may include computer readable program code configured toautomatically present the tagged information to the user when any of theany avatars that have been previously tagged by the user are within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar, wherein the taggedinformation is only presented to the user and not to users of the anyavatars. In another aspect, the computer readable computer program codemay include computer readable program code configured to allow the userto turn off automatically presenting the tagged information for aselected previously tagged one or more of the any avatars even if theselected previously tagged one or more of the any avatars is within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar.

Other aspects and features of the present invention, as defined solelyby the claims, will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in theart upon review of the following non-limited detailed description of theinvention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an example of a method for perspective basedtagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is an illustration of an example of a portion of a virtual worldillustrating a predetermined proximity range of a user's avatar inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is an illustration of an example of another avatar coming withinthe predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar in the virtualworld portion of FIG. 2A to permit perspective based tagging andvisualization of the other avatar in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example of tagging the other avatarwithin the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of presentation of taggedinformation to the user when a tagged avatar is or comes within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of an example of a system forperspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtualworld in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description of embodiments refers to theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate specific embodiments of theinvention. Other embodiments having different structures and operationsdo not depart from the scope of the present invention.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program product ona computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, forexample but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) ofthe computer-readable medium would include the following: an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a tangible medium such as aportable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), or other tangible optical or magnetic storage device;or transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or anintranet. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory. In the context of this document, acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice. The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signalwith the computer-usable program code embodied therewith, either inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program codemay be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but notlimited to the Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, radio frequency(RF) or other means.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in an object oriented programming language suchas Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer program codefor carrying out operations of the present invention may also be writtenin conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages, or in functionalprogramming languages, such as Haskell, Standard Meta Language (SML) orsimilar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely onthe user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

The present invention is described below with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the invention. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purposecomputer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce amachine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor ofthe computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, createmeans for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchartand/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of an example of a method 100 for perspectivebased tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In block 110,another avatar is determined to be within the predetermined proximityrange of the user's avatar. The other avatar may move into thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar in the virtual worldthrough actions of the other user controlling the other avatar, and/orthe user may move his avatar such that the predetermined proximity rangeof the user's avatar encompasses the other avatar. Referring also toFIG. 2A, FIG. 2A is an illustration of an example of a portion of avirtual world 200 illustrating a predetermined proximity range 202 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The portion ofthe virtual world 200 may be presented to the user on a display of acomputer device as described herein. The perimeter of the predeterminedproximity range 202 is illustrated by a dashed or broken line in FIGS.2A and 2B and defines an area 204 surrounding the user's avatar 206 inFIGS. 2A and 2B. The predetermined proximity range 202 may be atwo-dimensional or three-dimensional range extending a predetermineddistance D from the user's avatar in any direction. The predeterminedproximity range 202 may be substantially circular as illustrated inFIGS. 2A and 2B or may be shape selected by the user. FIG. 2Aillustrates an avatar 208 of another user that may be approaching theuser's avatar 206 from outside of the predetermined proximity range 202.

Referring also to FIG. 2B, FIG. 2B illustrates the other avatar 208coming within the predetermined proximity range 202 of the user's avatar206 either by movement of the other avatar 208, the user's avatar 206 orboth. If the other avatar 208 has been previously tagged withinformation by the user, the tagged information may be presented to theuser visually, audibly or both, as described herein, in response to theother avatar coming within the predetermined proximity range. The usermay also edit the tagged information. If the other avatar 208 has notbeen previously tagged with information, the user may be allowed to tagthe other avatar 208 with information in response to the other avatarbeing within the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar 206,as further described herein.

Referring back to FIG. 1, when another avatar is determined to be withinthe predetermined proximity range 202 of the user's avatar 206 asillustrated in FIG. 2B, the method 100 may advance to block 112. Inblock 112, a determination may be made whether the user has previouslytagged the avatar 208 within the proximity range 202 with custominformation. If not, the method 100 may advance to block 114.

In block 114, a determination may be made whether the user desires totag the other avatar 208 that is within the proximity range 202 withinformation. For example, the user may be presented a graphical userinterface to ask the user whether or not the user desires to taginformation. Alternatively, the user may indicate his desire to taginformation for this avatar by any activation means, such as pressingone or more keyboard keys, clicking a mouse or other computer pointingdevice, selecting an option on an onscreen menu or the like. If the userdoes not desire to tag information, then the method may terminate, asshown in block 128.

In block 116, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, at anytime the user wishes to tag information to the other avatar 208, theuser may select the other avatar 208 using a computer pointing device orthe like. Selecting a particular other avatar may be necessary whenthere are multiple other avatars within the predetermined proximityrange 202 of the user's avatar. In this case, the user must select whichavatar is to be tagged with the information. The user may select theother avatar 208 by giving some indication that the other avatar 208 isthe avatar the user wishes to tag with information. For example, theuser may select the other avatar by choosing the other avatar with theuser's mouse, by typing the other avatar's name into a graphical userinterface or by other means.

In block 117, the user may be presented a graphical user interface (GUI)to enter tagged information about the other avatar 208. The user mayalso be presented a GUI to define various display or presentationoptions for presenting the tagged information. These GUIs may bepresented to the user in separate GUIs or may be combined and presentedto the user in one GUI. As described herein, the information may bepresented in a visual form, audible form, or both. The taggedinformation may be presented only to the user that entered the taggedinformation.

In block 118, the user is allowed to enter text and other informationabout the other avatar 202. The user may enter this information by anymeans, such as through the GUI as described above. The taggedinformation may be information that is pertinent from a perspective ofthe user. For example, the tagged information may include information toidentify the other avatar 208 to the user and to present a relevance ofthe other avatar 208 to the user. The information about the other avatar208 may include any information, such as the avatar's occupation, theavatar's name, how the user knows the avatar, information obtained bythe user based on interactions the user's avatar 206 has had with theother avatar 208, user thoughts about the avatar or any information todefine a relevance of the other avatar 208 to the user or the user'savatar 206.

In block 119, the user may be allowed to define settings or propertiesfor the presentation of the tagged information to the user. For example,the user may define a format for presenting the tagged information, suchas how the information will be visually or audibly presented to theuser, a frequency for presenting the tagged information, a duration forpresenting the information to the user, and any other properties forpresenting the tagged information. Also, the user may define when topresent the tagged information to the user. For example, the user mayset the tagged information to be delivered to the user every time atagged avatar enters the proximity range 202 of the user's avatar 206.The user may set the tagged information to be delivered only once per acertain time period (e.g. once per day, week, month, etc.) that thetagged avatar enters the proximity range 202 of the user's avatar 206.Further, the user may desire to set the tagged information to bedelivered at the next meeting between the user's avatar 206 and thetagged avatar. The user may also define the display settings to notpresent the tagged information to the user at all or only on request ofthe user.

In block 120, the user may define visual and auditory options orproperties for the information tagged to the other avatar 208. Visualoptions or features the user may set could include a number of symbols,color schemes, or any other visual options which may be desired by theuser. Optional text and a legend may be included with the visualoptions. For example, the user may desire to mark all the user'savatar's co-workers in the virtual world with a certain symbol oroptional text so that when any of the avatars come into the proximityrange 202 of the user's avatar 206, the user immediately recognizes theother avatar as a co-worker. The audible options or settings would allowthe user to present any information to the user via an audible means.For example, any text entered by the user and tagged to another avatarmay be read to the user via any text-to-voice reader technologies inresponse to the other avatar coming within the predetermined proximityrange 202 of the user's avatar 206. Another example includes allowingthe user to tag preset sound recordings, such as audible alerts orwarnings, any pre-recorded sounds or statements by the user or otheravailable pre-recorded sounds.

Referring also to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is an illustration of an example oftagging another avatar 302 within the predetermined proximity range 304of the user's avatar 306 in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The tagged information and associated settings or propertiesmay be referred to as a tag definition 308 associated with the taggedavatar 302. As described above, the user is allowed to create or definethe tag definition 308. The tag definition 308 may include displayproperties 310 assigned by the user, text 312 assigned or entered by theuser to be associated with the tagged avatar 302, visual and/or audiblesettings 314 assigned by the user, as well as any other information tobe tagged to the other or tagged avatar 302 and properties relative topresentation of the tagged information. The tagged definition 308 maytypically only be presented to the user that entered or created thetagged definition 308. The user of the tagged avatar 302 may be unawareof the tagged information or tagged definition 308. The taggeddefinition 308 may be present on a computing device associated with theuser similar to that described with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 3 may also illustrate an example of delivery or presentation of thetagged information corresponding to the tag definition 306 in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, when thetagged avatar 302 enters the predetermined proximity range 304, the tagdefinition 308 associated with the previously tagged avatar 302 may bepresented to the user. The user may also be permitted to edit theinformation and any associated settings or properties in the tagdefinition 308.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in block 121, any tagged information or taggedinformation settings or properties may be stored in a database orinventory associated with the user. Each database or inventory may bespecific to each user and may be stored locally on the user's computerreadable storage medium or remotely on a server.

Referring back to block 112, if the other avatar 208 (FIG. 2B) is withinthe proximity range 202 of the user's avatar 206 and the user haspreviously tagged information to the other avatar 208, the method 100may advance to block 122. In block 122 a determination may be madewhether the user's previously entered settings allow presentation of thetagged information to the user. Recall that the user may enterproperties to limit presentation of the tagged information under certaincircumstance. For example the tagged information may only be presentedonce per a certain time period, only on request of the user or based onsome other parameters. If the user settings allow presentation of thetagged information in block 122, the method 100 may advance to blocks123 and 124. If not, the method may advance to block 126.

In block 123, the tagged information and any tagged information settingsrelating to the tagged avatar may be retrieved from the user'sinventory, defined above with regard to block 121.

In block 124, the tagged information of the tagged avatar may bepresented to the user in accordance with the tagged information settingsthat the user had previously defined. If no tagged information settingsexist, certain settings have not been defined, or none are retrieved,the tagged information may be displayed to the user according to defaultdisplay settings. As previously described, the tagged information may bevisual, auditory or both.

In block 126, a determination may be made whether the user desires tomodify and/or add any tagged information and/or settings for the taggedavatar. If the user does not desire to edit the tagged information orsettings, the method 100 may end at termination 128. However, if theuser desires to perform one or more of the above actions, the method 100may advance to block 130. To determine whether the user desires to editthe tagged information and settings, the user may indicate so by anymeans, such as entering such information in a GUI, selecting the taggedavatar, clicking the mouse, clicking an on-screen pull-down menu,pressing one or more keys on the keyboard, or other action.

In block 130, one or more GUIs may be presented to the user to modifytagged information and/or tagged information settings for the taggedavatar. Additionally, one or more GUIs may allow for the user to addtagged information or define tagged information settings. It should benoted that all of the above GUIs may be combined into one GUI to performone or more of the above actions.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of presentation 400 of taggedinformation to the user (not shown) when a tagged avatar 402 is or comeswithin the predetermined proximity range 404 of the user's avatar 406 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As previouslydiscussed with regard to block 120, the presentation 400 of taggedinformation may include a visual display 408 or an audible presentation410 of tagged information.

As previously discussed, FIG. 4 may also illustrate that thepresentation 410 of tagged information (visual information 408 oraudible information 410) may only occur for the user that previouslytagged the information to the tagged avatar 402. The tagged informationis typically not delivered or presented to the user of the tagged avatar402 and the user of the tagged avatar 402 may be unaware that his avataris tagged with information.

FIG. 4 also illustrates an example of managing tagged information inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As previouslydiscussed, a user can configure settings or properties associated withtagged information to add additional details or modify settings anddelivery or presentation. For example, as interaction levels betweenavatars may increase and more avatars enter the proximity range 404 ofthe user's avatar 406, the user may turn off delivery of the taggedinformation for selected other avatars, such as secondary avatar 412either because the tagged information is no longer needed or for otherreasons. Management of tagged information may be accomplished by theuser selecting to manage tagged avatars in a drop down menu,right-clicking a computer pointing device on the other avatar whosetagged information is to be managed or by any other means for selectingor activating features in a computer application, on the Internet or ina virtual world. A GUI or similar mechanism may be presented to permitthe user to edit the information, add additional details, modifysettings, change delivery properties and the like.

The tagged information may also be shared with other users or user'savatars. As previously discussed with respect to block 121 in FIG. 1,the tagged information may be stored locally in a inventory associatedwith the user, such as in a file system or memory on the user's computeror server running the virtual world. The tagged information and settingsmay then be shared or given to other users or avatars of other users inthe virtual world. This sharing feature may enable teams of users toshare information and operate more effectively in the virtual world orenvironment.

The following are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. First,a user's avatar may attend a virtual conference and identify a potentialfollow-up partnership with another avatar. The user may tag the otheravatar with the conference name, company name, and possible partnershipinformation. When the user's avatar next encounters the other avatar, aspreviously described, the tagged information may be presented to theuser and the user may immediately recognize the other avatar. Second, asanother example, a user may tag members of a virtual book club. When theuser next encounters another book club avatar, the user can immediatelyrespond appropriately without delay because the user was presentedtagged information and thus the user, understands the other avatar is amember of the book club. Third, as a last example, a user may tag apotential customer avatar in a virtual space with details pertinent tosales. On a follow-up meeting between the user's avatar and the otheravatar, the user may receive a notification of the tagged informationvia predefined methods (visual/audible) enabling the user to providebetter customer relations and feedback.

FIG. 5 is a block schematic diagram of an example of a system 500 forperspective based tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtualworld in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Thesystem 500 may include a module 502 for perspective based tagging andvisualization of avatars in a virtual world (hereinafter “custom taggingmodule 502”). The method 100 may be embodied in or performed by thecustom tagging module 502.

The custom tagging module 502 may be part of a virtual world simulationsystem 504 or program, such as Second Life' or similar virtual worldsystem. The virtual world simulation system 504 may be operable on aserver 506 which may be accessed by a plurality of users 508 orparticipants via a network 510 using an Internet browser on a computersystem 512, personal computer or similar device. The network 510 may bethe Internet, a private network or other network. Each computer system512 may be similar to the exemplary computer system 514 and associatedcomponents illustrated in FIG. 5 for purposes of explaining theembodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5.

The custom tagging module 502 may be a self contained system withembedded logic, decision making, state based operations and otherfunctions that may operate in conjunction with a virtual worldsimulation, such as Second Life™. The self contained system may allowbusinesses, individuals, services, locations, and the like in thevirtual world to interact. The custom tagging module 502 may be storedon a file system 516 or memory of the computer system 514. The customtagging module 502 may accessed from the file system 516 and run on aprocessor 518 associated with the computer system 514.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, thecustom tagging module 502 may be operable on the server 506 rather thaneach user's computer system 512 and 514 and may be accessed by theplurality of users 508 or participants via the network 510 using anInternet browser on the computer system 512 or 514 or by similar means.

The custom tagging module 502 may include a tagged informationmanagement module 520. The tagged information management module 520manages the information tagged to other avatars by the user of thecomputer system 514. For example, the tagged information managementmodule 520 allows presentation of the tagged information for a taggedavatar when the tagged avatar comes within the user's avatar's proximityrange.

The tagged information management module 520 may retrieve taggedinformation and associated settings from a user's inventory 522 andpresent the tagged information on a display 524, if visual, or via aspeaker 526 or speakers, if auditory, in accordance with the taggedinformation presentation settings. Also, the tagged information module520 collects the tagged information after the tagged information hasbeen entered by the user and places the tagged information into theuser's inventory 522.

The custom tagging module 502 may present one or more predeterminedgraphical user interfaces 528, similar to the GUIs described withrespect to the method 100 of FIG. 1, to permit perspective based taggingof information to other user's avatars. As previously discussed thetagged information is from the user's perspective relative to the otheruser's avatar, hence perspective based tagging. The perspective basedtagged information may assist the user in identifying the other users'avatars as well as a relevance of the other users' avatars to the user'sown avatar in the virtual world.

The GUIs 528 may include a GUI to allow the user to enter taggedinformation and/or tagged information presentation settings. These GUIs528 may be predetermined and presented in response to the userindicating the user would like to add/or modify information orinformation presentation settings for another avatar. The predeterminedGUIs 528 may be generated by the custom tagging module 502 as describedherein and may be presented on the display 524 of the computer system514.

The custom tagging module 502 may also include a proximity rangedetection module 530. The proximity range detection module 530 maydetermine when an avatar comes within the predetermined proximity rangeof the user's avatar. When an avatar comes within the predeterminedproximity range, the proximity range detection module 530 sends an alertto the custom tagging module 502 to present any tagged information orthe tag definition 308 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The custom tagging module 502 may also include inventory 522. Theinventory 522 may include tagged information and associated settings forpresentation of the tagged information. The inventory may be storelocally on the user's computer or the user's computer readable storagemedium. The inventory 522 may also be stored remotely on the network 510in a database (not shown). The custom tagging module 502 may determineif tagged information exists for an avatar that has entered a user'sproximity range by checking the user's inventory 522 for informationassociated the avatar.

The custom tagging module 502 may further include an options feature532. The options feature 532 may include any future enhancements,configurations, and extensions to the existing system or any additionsrelating to the custom tagging module 502. As an example, a notificationsystem could be added to the custom tagging module 502 which could beconfigured as an option to provide instant updates or providenotification by some other mechanism.

The user computer system may also include one or more input devices,output devices or combination input and output device, collectively I/Odevices 534 in FIG. 5. The I/O devices 534 may include a keyboard,computer pointing device or similar means to control operation of thecustom tagging module 502 and to enter information into the various GUIsas described herein. The I/O devices 534 may also include disk drives ordevices for reading computer media including computer-readable orcomputer-operable instructions.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinationsof special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that anyarrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may besubstituted for the specific embodiments shown and that the inventionhas other applications in other environments. This application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the presentinvention. The following claims are in no way intended to limit thescope of the invention to the specific embodiments described herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for perspective based tagging andvisualization of avatars in a virtual world, the system comprising: aprocessor; a module operable on the processor for determining if aphysical position of any avatars is within a predetermined proximityrange that encompasses a user's avatar in the virtual world; a moduleoperable on the processor for, in response to the physical position ofany avatars being within the predetermined proximity range of the user'savatar, allowing the user to enter information to tag any of the anyavatars with tagged information; a module operable on the processor forautomatically presenting the tagged information to the user when any ofthe any avatars that have been previously tagged by the user are withinthe predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar, wherein thetagged information is only presented to the user and not to users of theany avatars; and a module operable on the processor for allowing theuser to turn off automatically presenting the tagged information for aselected previously tagged one or more of the any avatars even if theselected previously tagged one or more of the any avatars is within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a module for determining if the user haspreviously tagged any avatars with the information in response to anyavatars coming within the predetermined proximity range of the user'savatar.
 3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a module forpresenting the tagged information in at least one of a visual form andan audible form.
 4. The system of claim 2, further comprising a modulefor presenting an interface for the user to modify the taggedinformation previously entered by the user.
 5. The system of claim 1,further comprising a module for allowing the user to select any avatarswithin the predetermined proximity range for tagging the information andpresenting an interface for the user to enter the information to betagged to any avatars within the predetermined proximity range inresponse to the user selecting any avatars within the predeterminedproximity range.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a modulefor allowing the user to define properties for automatically presentingthe tagged information.
 7. The system of claim 6, further comprising amodule for allowing the user to define a format for automaticallypresenting the tagged information to the user; allowing the user todefine a frequency for automatically presenting the tagged information;and allowing the user to define a duration for automatically presentingthe tagged information.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising amodule for allowing the user to define at least one of visual andauditory information for the tagged information.
 9. The system of claim1, further comprising a module for storing the tagged information andassociated settings locally in an inventory associated with the user.10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a module for allowing thetagged information and associated settings to be shared with anotheruser and the user of the any avatar.
 11. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising a module for allowing the user to enter information that ispertinent from a perspective of the user.
 12. The system of claim 1,further comprising a module for allowing the user to enter informationto identify any avatar to the user and to present a relevance of thatany avatar to the user's avatar in the virtual world.
 13. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a module for allowing a management entity toupdate and modify the tagged information.
 14. A system for perspectivebased tagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world, thesystem comprising: a processor; a module operable on the processor fordetermining if a physical position of any avatars is within apredetermined proximity range that encompasses a user's avatar in thevirtual world; a module operable on the processor for determining if theuser has previously tagged any avatar that is within the predeterminedproximity range with tagged information, wherein the tagged informationcomprises at least an audible statement pre-recorded by the user; amodule operable on the processor for permitting the user to: tag the anyavatar with additional information in response to the any avatar comingwithin the predetermined proximity range of the user's avatar; and editthe tagged information in response to the any avatar coming within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar and the user havingpreviously tagged the any avatar with information.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, further comprising a module operable on the processor forautomatically presenting the tagged information to the user in responseto the any avatar coming within the predetermined proximity range of theuser's avatar and the user having previously tagged the any avatar withthe tagged information, wherein the tagged information is only presentedto the user and not to users of the any avatars
 16. The system of claim14, further comprising a module for permitting the user to tag the anyavatar with information related to an identification of the any avatarand a relevance of the any avatar to the user's avatar in the virtualworld.
 17. The system of claim 14, further comprising a module forallowing the user's avatar to transfer the tagged information for anyavatar within the predetermined proximity range to any further avatar inthe virtual world.
 18. The system of claim 14, further comprising amodule for permitting the user to tag another avatar within thepredetermined proximity range with information in response to theanother avatar coming within the predetermined proximity range of theuser's avatar and the user not having previously tagged the anotheravatar with information.
 19. The system of claim 14, further comprisinga module for allowing the user to define properties for presenting thetagged information.
 20. A computer program product for perspective basedtagging and visualization of avatars in a virtual world, the computerprogram product comprising: a computer readable storage medium havingcomputer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readablecomputer program code comprising: computer readable program codeconfigured to determine if a physical position of any avatars is withina predetermined proximity range that encompasses a user's avatar in thevirtual world; computer readable program code configured to, in responseto the physical position of any avatars being within the predeterminedproximity range of the user's avatar, allow the user to enterinformation to tag any of the any avatars with tagged information;computer readable program code configured to automatically present thetagged information to the user when any of the any avatars that havebeen previously tagged by the user are within the predeterminedproximity range of the user's avatar, wherein the tagged information isonly presented to the user and not to users of the any avatars; andcomputer readable program code configured to allow the user to turn offautomatically presenting the tagged information for a selectedpreviously tagged one or more of the any avatars even if the selectedpreviously tagged one or more of the any avatars is within thepredetermined proximity range of the user's avatar.